One Month Later
by AcerbusEquinomin56
Summary: You Nitwit! Heroes Are Extinct! - Valentine's Day was a disaster and Aster's hoping that White's Day will turn out better. Hopefully this time with no one being interrogated or potentially decimated. - Cassiel/Aster
1. Valentine's Day

"_February 14__th_

_Dear Diary,_

_It is another day in our siege of earth. Those earthlings are strong and not budging an inch, thanks to some quick thinking. While I am sure now that no real protectors of earth exist as of now (aside from the ones we are facing), I cannot be completely sure of what other dangers this alien planet may hold._

_Could it be that this, the 14__th__ of February (according to Earthling time) will be a foreboding day of danger and mystique? It has yet to be seen. Regardless I shall spend the day constructing the next stage of our battle with earth. The other crew members have gone on surveillance, leaving me time to plot in silence, but we'll just keep that a secret between you and me._

_1__st__ Grand Galactic General of the Bazue Empire,_

_Cassiel"_

The day was happy, full of light and looked promising. It always looked that way to Aster, except this day for some reason looked particularly special. He was on his regular reconnaissance mission in the city to document earthling behavior and noted that there was an overwhelming amount of couples today, all bunched together and bustling.

Aster walked down the street in disguise, jostling and jumping out of the way as smitten pedestrians traipsed along. They seemed so enveloped in their bliss they could have walked off a cliff and not noticed. It was unsettling for Aster, certainly because he kept almost running into them. The sheer mass went on as far as he could see.

He might have thought they could have been forming an army if he didn't know better. And he didn't, so he ducked into a nearby shop as he noted a frighteningly large stream of them coming his way. These earthlings were tricky and his ship hadn't yet pinpointed where the resistance fighters were located, so he couldn't be sure that they wouldn't launch a vigilante effort.

Aster just then noticed the "shelter" he'd entered and looked around the store. It was a small convenience type locale stocked with snacks, postcards, trinkets, souvenirs, a few odd looking stuffed animals, and other similar doo-dads suited for such a store. A calendar he noticed near the door said February 14th.

A bright looking middle-aged woman saluted him as she noticed he'd come into the store.

"Happy Valentine's Day!"

Aster turned and smiled, having averted the dangerous battalions of couples outside.

"Happy…Valentine's Day?"

The woman nodded.

"Yep. Tell me young man, do you have a valentine today?"

"…What's a Valentine?"

The woman looked a bit surprised and moved in her seat. She then unloaded her best saleswoman face, but only managed to look more helpful in the process.

"A Valentine is a little gift like…"

She reached over the counter to grab a pink and red patterned card.

"This."

She showed it to him. Aster walked over and took it from her hand. The woman continued as she watched him marveling over the colorful piece of cardboard.

"Then you give it to someone you like and then, in a way, they become your Valentine! Isn't that sweet?"

Aster nodded, contemplating the curious statement on the inside of the card. He wondered how vital a tradition it was on earth to ask "Will you be my Valentine?" The lady smiled and leaned back in her chair, resetting her hands in her lap.

"So do you have anyone in mind that you'd like to give it to?"

Aster looked up.

"It has to be someone I like right?"

"That's right."

Aster thought for a moment trying to sort through all the people he liked (friends, people back on his home planet, space-ship mates, crew members) before deciding on the person he thought would like the Valentine most. The thought made him immensely cheery, even more so than he already was.

"I do have someone I like!"

"Great! So do you want to buy it?"

"Buy?"

Aster looked distraught, realizing that he hadn't brought any human money with him because this had only been a surveillance mission (why did the currency have to be so complex?). The woman noticed.

"Short today?"

Aster wasn't sure what that question meant, so he just nodded. He hoped it wasn't referring to his height. The woman leaned across the counter again and patted his hand with a warm smile.

"Don't worry. You can have that one for free."

Aster lit up.

"Really?"

"Sure, go on now and give your Valentine while there's still time. The day won't last forever you know."

Aster was jubilant and shouted "thank you" as he ran out of the store. The woman chuckled to herself. She hadn't seen anyone quite as excited about Valentine's Day for a long time. She wished other young people would be more enthusiastic.

Aster raced back to the landing point where he knew Cassiel would still be on the ship. Usually he was gone on his own surveillance missions, but today he wasn't because of a large pile of galactic paperwork he had to fill out, or so he said.

When Aster entered the ship he noted it to be very quiet. It should have been considering everyone had left or was working in other parts of the spacecraft. He walked into the main room and found Cassiel pacing the length of the center table.

Aster said, "Cassiel? Why are you here? I thought you had paperwork to fill out."

Cassiel looked up and then looked back down at the ground and continued pacing.

"Finished."

"Oh? Great! It's nice that you're so efficient. Anyway, since you're done, here, I wanted to—"

"Ssh! I'm formulating our next attack strategy."

"But, I went into this little store and found –"

"I told you I can't talk! And why are _you_ here? Weren't you supposed to be on surveillance?"

"I was but—"

"Oh never mind, just get back to your route. You could be missing valuable information as we speak!"

Aster slumped a little, and took small, slower steps as he walked to the table beside Cassiel. He put the card on the table.

"Happy Valentine's Day."

Cassiel stopped and Aster paused before walking out. He heard Cassiel muttering.

"Wait…what?"

He heard an enormous flump and turned to see Cassiel analyzing the card, half splayed out on the table.

"I knew I'd heard of this!"

Aster waited, wondering. Cassiel jumped up and ran over, gripping Aster's shoulders and breathing heavily.

"I knew I'd heard of Valentine's Day before. When I was watching—um, I mean, researching this planet, the name of Valentine's Day would come up from time to time."

He turned and Aster watched him curiously. Cassiel continued muttering.

"Only the most diabolical creatures emerged on Valentine's Day. These evil incarnations of Eros wished to enslave the forces of good with their very feelings! Imagine that!"

He flipped around.

"Aster! We might be in grave danger! Look at this!"

He pointed to the phrase on the card.

"'Will you be my Valentine?' No doubt that this is a message from the monster itself, taunting us with its threats. This means we have to work quickly. It could begin its assault any moment."

Aster frowned. Although he would usually have bought into Cassiel's panic, he wasn't so sure this time.

"But the lady—"

"Lady?"

"Yeah, the lady who gave me the card—"

"Someone gave it to you? Of course! They were using you to send the message! Quick! Aster, take me to this woman! She'll be the clue to defeating this beast! What a miscalculation it's made! This will mean its demise!"

With that, Cassiel rushed into the entry way, only half waiting for Aster to follow. Aster sighed and walked after him. This really hadn't gone as he'd hoped.

After reminding Cassiel to change into civilian clothes (Captain's garments plus cape aren't _that_ conspicuous), the pair proceeded into the city and back to the small shop where Aster had gotten the card.

As they entered the same woman was at the counter. She recognized Aster.

"Hello again? Did you manage to…what's wrong?"

Aster looked gloomy and the fact that a very agitated Cassiel came in after him keyed the woman into the situation.

"Ah…he didn't like your Valentine, did he?"

Aster shook his head as Cassiel strutted to the check-out counter.

"Are you the person who solicited this piece of merchandise?"

Cassiel was holding the card up in front of the woman's face. She nodded as she pushed his arm out of the way.

"Yeah I did."

"Then I demand that you reveal what your purpose was in doing so."

The woman stared at him for a moment.

"Pardon?"

Cassiel breathed in and continued what he thought a valiant interrogation.

"Was there some reason you gave him…"

Cassiel pointed to Aster with the hand that was still holding the card.

"…This message? Some ulterior motive?"

The woman looked incredulous and she shifted her gaze to Aster. He gave an apologetic look. She seemed to come out of the fog after that.

"Let me get this straight…you didn't like this boy's Valentine so you came here to complain to me for giving it to him?"

Cassiel stepped back.

"Didn't like? No, I just want to know what the purpose of it is."

The woman's eyes almost bulged. She stood and leaned her impressive, albeit somewhat short stature over the counter towards Cassiel.

"The point of a Valentine is for the giver to acknowledge his or her feelings to the one receiving it! There's no ulterior purpose! Where on earth did you grow up, another planet?"

Cassiel and Aster both looked shocked. The woman simmered and sat back down.

"Listen. The whole point of Valentine's Day is to strengthen relationships, start new ones, or clarify ones that weren't completely clear."

Cassiel sounded like he would choke.

"That's all?"

"That's all."

"But…but, what about the monsters and giant love-sucking machines and dire _peril_?"

"Dire peril? You mean like on children's TV shows?"

Cassiel nodded. The woman burst out laughing.

"Those things don't exist!"

It was nearly visible how Cassiel shattered. He pulled himself away from the counter and trudged out the door, pieces of pride dragging behind him. The woman looked at Aster who was still surprised at the whole spectacle.

"See, this is the exact reason I didn't let my kids watch TV growing up. They should be reading or out exploring the world…"

Aster lessened his grim expression some.

"Sorry about all this…"

"No, don't apologize. These things happen…actually no, they don't. This was pretty out of the ordinary, but I guess I don't mind too much."

She smiled and Aster felt better. She remembered.

"Oh…but he didn't seem to react well to your Valentine did he?"

Aster shifted his weight to another foot.

"He…gets distracted sometimes."

The woman chuckled lightheartedly, making Aster want to laugh too. The air of the shop began to diffuse from the storm that had occupied it.

"Don't worry. Anyone growing up watching _those_ shows as a kid can't be all bad."

"Thanks."

Aster turned to leave, but the woman stopped him.

"Oh, and by the way, there's another holiday a month from now called White's Day where if your Valentine likes you back, he'll give you something white."

Aster blinked. The woman continued smiling in a knowing way.

"Would you mind explaining that to your friend so we don't repeat what happened today?"

"Oh, yes, I will, thanks!"

And Aster left the store. The woman hummed to herself, thinking on the events of the day. She reached her conclusion.

"This world needs more weird people like that."

* * *

A/N:

"You Nitwit! Heroes Are Extinct!" is an obscure, marvelous, Power Ranger's referencing, 3-volume series that I happen to love. It would be great if I could meet other people who have read it (currently I know one person) or if FF could potentially make a designation for it…please?

Anyway, I love this series. It's so wonderful and funny and full of pairing potential. The main pair ends up heterosexual, but the author herself claims that she's a yaoi fan (she's also a doujinshi artist, but that's another story). (So, hint, hint)

I also haven't read the series in years so this story, particularly the dialogue is based off my memory of the characters. So…for any of you recent readers of the series, sorry if I threw the compass needle off track for anyone. It all seemed perfectly reasonable at the time.

Anyway, thanks for reading, please review and if you haven't, please, _please_ read Heroes Are Extinct! It really deserves more fans.


	2. White's Day

"_March 13__th__,_

_Dear Diary,_

_That dreaded day is growing ever closer and I don't know how I am to approach it. Could it really be only one day away? I fear that I cannot hide out in this room forever. I have duties that I must attend to as Captain, but at the same time, my reservations have been crippling my responsibilities. I can only hope that things will work themselves out without much trouble. Yes, I can only hope._

_1__st__ Grand Galactic General of the Bazue Empire,_

_Cassiel"_

Cassiel had been despondent for most of the past month. The Valentine's Day fiasco had left him depressed and his activities were somewhat sluggish compared to the usual valor that he never failed to emanate. The regular workers of the crew were getting concerned about him, wondering if they had somehow upset him with some callous inaction or lack of praise.

Even Princess Velvet could twist no joints to get Cassiel back into fighting spirit. Of course, it was partially her fault that he had gotten like this in the first place. On that Valentine's Day, Velvet came back with a boatload of Valentine's cards and candy from random admirers she'd met on the street during her mission. It really was too much for poor Cassiel.

If there was one thing Cassiel still had energy for, it was avoiding Aster. He'd avoided Aster so much in fact that Aster hadn't even had the chance to brief Cassiel on what he'd learned about the holiday that would very quickly be approaching: White's Day, whatever that was. Apparently it was something Cassiel needed to know about, but he wasn't ever around, only sequestered in his room, working behind a locked door.

Aster and Velvet agreed it would do no one any good to mention this in their feedback reports to Bazue, but if Cassiel didn't shape up soon, they'd have no choice but to give in and ask for reinforcements in the form of other generals, even if they were glory-seeking pigs (a fact most of the crew wasn't keen on mentioning about one of their fellow generals).

When the week of White's Day came, Aster thought it absolutely necessary to bring up the topic, no matter what happened. Perhaps it would be of some use to Cassiel and by proxy bring some life back to the ship.

Late in the evening, Aster walked to the outside of Cassiel's door, waited for a moment and listened for the noise of typing and scribbling, signs that the top general would be inside. Aster heard the furious clacking and knocked.

"Cassiel?"

"Hm?"

"It's Aster."

"I'm aware."

"May I come in?"

"No."

This was typical routine for the past month. Aster usually just left though, suppressing a childish instinct to batter the door until it caved in. He leaned closer.

"But why?"

"I'm working."

"But I have some information that could be very important."

"I have no interest in your information."

Aster had even gone this far a few times in trying to get Cassiel to let him in. The other crew members had tried as well, receiving polite but firm responses from Cassiel to leave him alone. Even Punkin wasn't very successful (especially with his habit of showing up randomly just about anywhere). But none had gotten as far as Aster, who, for some reason, Cassiel treated far more casually.

But Aster hadn't gone any farther until now.

"Cassiel…"

"…"

Aster pressed himself to the door after looking around to make sure no one was in the hall with him.

"…Cassiel…?"

"…"

"Cassiel, please answer me."

"What _is_ it? You know I'm working!"

"White's Day is tomorrow."

The keyboard clacking stopped. Aster closed his eyes and rolled his forehead around on the door.

"That lady in the store we visited told me to tell you about it. She said that if you liked me too, you'd give me something white tomorrow. …That's all I wanted to tell you."

Aster was about the remove his forehead from the door when it swished open, revealing Cassiel standing in uniform, looking livid. Unfortunately, the door went a bit too fast for Aster to retrieve his balance, and he predictably tumbled right into Cassiel, who caught him without thinking about it. Aster looked up from about Cassiel's mid-chest.

"Uh…hi."

"_Aster!_"

Cassiel half-hurled Aster into the hallway wall behind him. He took three steps and looked down at Aster from the several inches he had on him.

"What on earth do you think you're doing!"

Aster was just dense enough that it worked to his advantage.

"What? Leaning on the door?"

"_No_, what you were _saying_!"

Aster leaned up a little, making the inches shrink and Cassiel's threatening stance diminish.

"What are you talking about Cassiel? I just came to tell you about—"

"NO! Don't say it again!"

Cassiel looked around quickly, side to side and up (for Punkin) before grabbing Aster by the upper arms and pulling him backwards into his room. He shut the door, locked it and breathed out while Aster stood in the middle of the room regarding him with some confusion.

Cassiel strolled forward.

"Do you have any idea what you could have just done?"

Aster blinked.

"What?"

Cassiel hissed, glancing sideways towards the door.

"What you were saying _outside_!"

"What? About White's Day?"

"Yes!"

"What about Whi—"

"Stop."

Cassiel held up his hand and let his mania sink a little. He looked Aster over carefully, trying to sift out deception, malicious intention, or simple foul play. All of these things were thankfully foreign to Aster and Cassiel closed his one visible eye. He seemed very tired all of a sudden. He pointed in direction of his bed.

"Sit."

Aster sat, befuddled. Cassiel sat at his desk chair and turned to face his chamber-mate.

"Are you telling me that you seriously don't understand the gravity of the situation?"

Aster blinked and shook his head. Cassiel rubbed his knees nervously.

"Aster, tell me honestly, what did you intend with that Valentine?"

"What?"

"Your intention, what was it?"

"I don't understand."

Cassiel sighed.

"Like…when you gave it to me, what did you mean by it?"

"Oh…well…"

Cassiel was serious. Aster recollected.

"…when I got to that shop…that lady asked me if I had someone I liked that I could give a Valentine to…"

Aster paused, half-smiling, pulling at the lonely feeling he'd had since the month of isolation had begun.

"And I thought, of all the people I like, I thought you'd like it most! You like earth so much anyways…"

Cassiel tinted a bit, looking at his desk.

"Aster, do you know what Valentines mean?"

Aster scratched his face.

"What, just that you like someone, isn't it?"

"Yes, Aster. That you _like_ someone."

"Yeah?"

"_Like,_ Aster. _Like_ as in a romantic relationship Aster."

All of a sudden it sort of made sense and a very big blush made its way across most of Aster's visible body.

"Ohh…"

"Now you know what I've been dealing with this whole time…"

Aster stood up suddenly.

"So _that's_ why you've been in here!"

Cassiel nodded glumly.

"But…how did you find out about—"

Cassiel gestured to his research log.

"A month ago I wanted to see if what that woman said was true, so I began to look into it. Before I knew it, I'd found everything out…and I had no idea whether you…"

He stopped while Aster fidgeted.

"So you've been in here because you thought I… oh…"

Aster looked crestfallen.

"…I'm sorry Cassiel…I didn't know that you'd been in here because of me…"

"Well…not just you."

"Eh?"

Cassiel stood up and walked to an earth-themed chest of drawers at the other side of the small room. He opened the top drawer and began to remove a few things, clothes mostly and the odd plastic action figure, before bringing a small object into view. He brought it over and handed it to Aster. It was a small pristine white box with white bows.

Aster stared at it.

"Cassiel…it's really pretty…"

"I got Punkin to tie the bows…"

Aster looked up and noticed a very familiar type of blush now encompassing the majority of Cassiel. He took off the lid and stared down at a small white metal pendant. Aster picked it up and noticed it was connected to a silver chain.

"What is it?"

"It's like the string of communicators I wear, but this one is specifically for you."

Aster held up the tear-drop shaped device, letting it swirl and spin in the air before placing it around his neck. He rolled it around his fingers. Cassiel watched him with a small embarrassed smile.

"I got Princess Velvet to order one for me…they're hard to get on short notice…"

As Aster was playing with it he realized its significance and dropped it where it laid on his chest. He suddenly felt as though he'd been let in on a tremendous secret.

"Cassiel."

"What?"

"This is white."

"…Ah…yes."

Aster looked at a nearby earth-shaped clock. It was after earthly midnight.

"Today is White's Day."

"Mm-hm…"

"You even got Punkin to tie the bows."

Aster stared at him, waiting for the other man to confirm, to make sure that this was all real. He couldn't react until he knew for sure what was going on. Cassiel turned around and faced his bedroom door, not wanting to endure Aster's stare.

"…I've thought about this whole thing for the past month…and I guess I was a little more than flattered when I got your Valentine…"

"Cassiel."

He bristled, the voice surprising him. Aster sounded serious, deadly serious.

"Cassiel. Look at me."

Cassiel clenched his gut, preparing for what he'd expected to happen, predicting that Aster probably wouldn't want the necklace when he figured out what it was for. "_I shouldn't be surprised" _he thought. He turned resignedly, expecting a broody, displeased Aster.

He was not expecting it when Aster launched himself forwards, knocking them both into the door, which malfunctioned and opened, leaving them both sprawled half way past Cassiel's doorframe and half way on the hallway floor. Aster's pendant swung forwards and hit Cassiel on the nose. Aster began laughing.

"I knew there was a reason I gave you that Valentine!"

Cassiel leaned up in shock.

"What? But I thought you—"

Aster lay on Cassiel's chest, happily grinning in a head propped on hands way.

"What? Didn't know about Valentine's Day? No, I didn't. Doesn't mean I still didn't _like_ you though."

Cassiel regarded Aster with disbelief before he laid his head back on the floor and closed his eye. Aster leaned forward, the pendant resting just below Cassiel's chin. He looked contentedly thoughtful.

"Thank you Cassiel…I guess we're both clear now?"

"Clear?"

"About…you and I…and Valentine's and White's Day and everything else?"

"I guess so."

Aster thrummed his fingers on Cassiel's chest.

"…Do you think we could go on earthly date then?"

Cassiel's head snapped back up.

"_What?_"

"I heard some younger couples talking about it…on the last mission…"

Cassiel let his head fall hard again to the floor.

"…I'm going to get a headache if I keep getting surpr—"

He would have finished that sentence too had he not opened his eye and noticed General Punkin standing upside down and watching them from the ceiling. Aster followed Cassiel's gaze. Velvet thought she heard screams down the hall. She assumed that Cassiel would finally be out of his room now.

* * *

A/N:

Yay! Another chapter. And the last to my knowledge. It was meant as a two-shot anyway.

It makes me happy that I've actually finished a holiday related story and posted it on time.

Also, something I noticed…I don't know where Aster's conscience is during all of this. I assume he couldn't take it with him on his earth-based missions due to the fact it's a floating, talking puffer-fish, but in the ship, I can't speak for its whereabouts. Let's say it was watching old reruns of Gundam with Velvet. We all know that's what she was doing.

Valentines are apparently far more serious in outer space than they are here on earth. They're a big deal.

I love Punkin. He makes me so happy. Please read Heroes Are Extinct! Most of this won't make much sense unless you do. Anyway.

Thank you for reading and please review! PLEASE review! Reviews make my day better.


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